Haymitch Abernathy
by district12straightshot
Summary: Anyone ever wonder how Haymitch won the hunger games. Well this is the story of the 41st Hunger games.
1. Chapter 1

Haymitch Abernathy:

"And the male tribute for district twelve is Haymitch Abernathy" says Daliah Oppy in her high pitched, squeaky voice. I hear a scream from the crowd that could only be from one possible person, Jasmine. The thought of her long black hair and deep brown eyes makes me forget what's happening for a second. That is until I am given a little shove in the back from Stamin, my mate from school.

As I walk up to the stage the group of 16 year old boys parts instantly for me to make my way through. I recognise some of the faces in the way towards the stage, the expressions on their faces are pitying but underneath that all I can see is relief. Relief that they have been spared, relief that it is just a boy from the seam that is going to die this year.

As I finally reach the stage I look up at Daliah Oppy. She has odd bright yellow hair and has yellow tattoos covering the majority of her visible body. She has a very freakish appearance, but the scariest thing about her is her silver eyes. It is her eyes that are watching me now, sizing me up. Deciding if I will help her further her career in the capitol. She averts her eyes almost instantly. She obviously has no faith in me what so ever. But I honestly couldn't care less, she doesn't know me, she doesn't know anything about me. How can she write me off that quickly?

But I know the answer. I am just taller than average, with a stocky physique that I have earned from having to help me dad haul wood all around district 12. It's also because I am not Panem's top dog in the looks department. I am not unattractive, I'm just not stunningly handsome. I have medium length auburn hair, bright blue eyes and pale skin. I am one of the few in the seam with pale skin, because even though none in my family work in the coal mines, we are no were near rich enough to live in town. We hardly scrape by anyway.

I hear Daliah ask if there are any volunteers. Silence, I already knew that was all there would be but still, I had hoped maybe someone would be stupid enough to want to have a go in the Capitols games. Then, once again I hear Jasmine's screams. Up until this moment I had been focused on my thoughts not my surroundings, her pleas force my mind back into reality. Once again she screams "please somebody volunteer, please". She knows her pleas are helpless and breaks down into hysterics and falls to the ground sobbing. I can feel tears welling up in my eyes but I blink a few times. I have to remain composed and collected or I will be dead in a second in the arena. I catch my father's eye in the crowd. He gives me a reassuring smile, to say "everything will be ok Mitch"

But how can it be ok. I am to die and he knows it. I can't return his smile so I quickly turn away. I find myself looking at the female tribute for this year. Her name is Faucet Dallet. I would feel sorry for her if I hadn't known her. She was a kid from the seam like me, but she was 18. As it was her last year of eligibility for the games this year, she took the tessera for the first time ever. I don't have a problem with someone taking out tessera, for I myself have had to take it 3 times. But she didn't need tessera, she sold it. Every month she would take two tessera out and sell it off to two poor seam families. And believe me she got a good damn price, I mean who wouldn't want the tessera without the consequences of getting another slip.

Faucet thought she was being smart, you see. She only took out 12 tessera. So she only had 20 slips, and she had made a good fortune. I bet she never thought that twenty slips would matter, considering some of us seam kids had over 40 slips each. I honestly don't know much of a chance she has of winning these games. She is a very odd looking person, short and stocky with odd black straw like hair and patchy olive skin. She did have one redeeming quality though, her eyes. They were the colour of molten gold. I turned away once again. No point in staring.

Mayor Everlark droned on for a while about the treaty of treason, about why we were here and all. But all I could think of was that in less than a week I was to be sent into an arena to fight to the death. At that moment Hertz Famish stepped onto the stage. He was districts 12 only surviving tribute. He was about 45 now he was in the 6th hunger games. He was a tall, wiry man how had a haunted look about him. I had never spoken to him but I had seen him around the district, he liked to help out around the seam, I think he thought if he helped out there then less people would have to take out the tessera.

I closed my eyes and began to listen, he was giving a speech about fundraising for this year's tributes. I wondered for a second what it would be like to mentor two kids singlehandedly and then watch them get murdered. He must have either be one of the strongest people, In this world or he is very good at putting on a brave face. He comes over and shakes Faucet and my hands and says good luck. He is smile emanates warmth but when you look closely into his eyes you can see the shadows lurking behind the misty blue of his eyes. He notices my staring and hastily averts his gaze.

The peacekeepers then take us down to the Justice building and take us to our visiting room. We each get one hour for people to visit us. First of course is Jasmine. She runs in, with her hair flailing madly behind her, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. She then hugs me with an extraordinary amount of strength for such a petite girl.

"Mitchy, promise you'll come home" she splutters out. "I can't do that". "Stop" she shouts, her voice filled with a ferocity that I have never heard from her. "Just promise" she chokes out in between sobs. I look at her beautiful olive skin, and green eyes and whisper softly "I promise". She looks up at me and smiles and says "now was that so hard?". I think about making a snappy comment about how it was the hardest thing I have ever done but I look into her eyes and say instead "Jas, what happens if I don't make it home?" She looks stunned at my question, obviously her tears have run out, even though her bottom is still quivering.

"Then I go to, if you die in the arena, I will perish as well" she says with a tone that tells me isn't joking one bit. My brain whirls in a circle for a second until I comprehend what she is saying. "Don't, please, it would just hurt me more if I couldn't watch you from above" even as the words come out I think to myself, what is above?. There's a good chance in the next few weeks I'll find out. Her voice is barely audible as she whispers "I'll stay if you try, Mitch. If you go down without a fight I'm going down to. But if you fight, I'll fight through the pain as well.

The peacemakers are at the door now, she leans in and gives me a swift kiss. "Now you're fighting for both of us". I sit there for a few seconds as the peacekeepers go to get my next visitor. Would Jasmine really do what she said? Yes, she is too stubborn for her own good. I remember when I first met her when we were 6, she had said that I had red hair, while I stood there insisting that it was morn brown than red. Even to this day she still says it is red. I know I love Jasmine like a sister, but I'm not sure I'm in love with her. I know now that if she had been chosen to be a tribute alongside me I would give my life for her, but I wouldn't be prepared to give my life to her.

As my Mum and Dad walk in I notice that that Mum is having trouble breathing from the amount that she has been crying. No wonder they let Jasmine in first, they obviously couldn't get Mum to calm down enough. "Haymitch, you listen to me. Hide, survive, you are a smart fit boy and I know you will make it" says my father in his gruff voice. We sit there for half an hour, with my Mum crying into Dad's shoulder, and Dad saying things like "Don't even worry Haymitch, it will be easy, at least easier than dropping off all that wood for a month". I agree with simply because I know I need to comfort them at the moment. Do all tributes have to comfort their loved ones, because it seems odd? It should be the other way round.

There are no other visitors, so when the peacekeepers come to collect my parents, they simply escort me down and out to the train station. I keep my face as calm and impassive as possible and walk through the crowd of cameras and lights until I reach the train. I take one last look at my district before I board. And all I can think is, will I ever see it again?


	2. Chapter 2

As I hop on to the train I notice the plush, blue carpet and beautiful oil pictures that are gently swaying in motion with the rocking train. I look over my shoulder to see that Faucet has been crying. I am still wondering if this is part of her strategy or not when someone taps me on the shoulder. Startled I turn around, it's just Hertz. Calm down Haymitch, you're not even in the arena yet and you're already jumping when someone taps you on the shoulder. "Haymitch isn't it?" asks Hertz in his gravelly voice. It's the kind of voice that makes you trust. I suppose I need to be able to trust him, he is my mentor. My lifeline in the games. "Yes, Haymitch, but Mitch is just fine."

"Alright then, Mitch it is. We're all just going to head down to the dining room if you'd like to join us for tea" says Hertz, his tine is light and unserious but I can still see pain in his eyes. He casts his eyes downwards at once. "You can get changed in your room mate, it's the 3rd door on the left" he quickly walks away to go tell Faucet something. I head down the rocking corridor until I reach my room. When I open the door I am amazed. The room was bigger than my house back in the seam. Everything from the silken white sheets on the bed to the intricately carved wooden dresser to the side screamed wealth. The thought of taking something enters my mind, but where would I take it? Maybe I could run a shop in the middle of the hunger games, of course the fact that the customers would be trying to kill me raises an issue.

I walk over to the chest of drawers and open them to find very fancy clothes, there is one shirt that is orange with pictures of trackerjackers all over it, must be all the rage in the capitol. I manage to find a relatively normal brown shirt with a pair of black pants that are made from soft cotton. I head down the narrow path leading to the dining room and pause just before I reach the door. Maybe they have a consensus on me already and I want to know what they are thinking. "Hertz, what are we supposed to do with the girl, she's a right mess?" Daliah's silly high pitched voice asks. "The stylists can work wonders, and the boy looks as if he has potential" whispers Hertz. He is obviously trying to calm Daliah down.

Potential eh? I wonder what he could mean. I mean let's face it I can't use a weapon, I know nothing about survival skills, the only thing I have going for me is wits, cunning and strength from carrying wood around. And also I can hunt, but where will that get me? Those tributes from 1, 2 and 4 are always well trained and vicious. I am about to open the door when I hear a snide voice come from behind me. "Spying eh Mitch, you should know better". "Shut up, Faucet. At least I didn't choose to be here" I reply. She looks taken aback she stays quite for a few seconds before she whispers something so low, that it is almost inaudible. "Choose, you think I chose to be here?"

"Of course you did, taking out all that tessera and selling it off to poor seam families to make some cash" I say this in a threatening voice and she flinches when I say it. "That's why you think I did it?" she hisses. "No I know that's why you did it" I reply with equal verve. What does she mean, that's why I think? Everybody knows that she sells off her tessera, to poor seam families. She pauses for a second and takes a deep breath as if to calm herself. Calm herself, I am the one who has a right to be angry not her. She looks into my eyes with her unnatural gold pair and says "Do you remember 3 years ago that boy from our district who died because he didn't have any sponsors to send him water?" "Yes, but what's that go to do with anything?" Why was she talking about previous hunger games, wasn't it bad enough that in a week we are going to be forced into an arena ourselves."

"Just let me continue please, ok well obviously you don't remember the boys name so I will tell you" she pauses for a second, I can see tears welling up on her eyes. "His name was Cliff Dallet". I gasp loudly and go to apologise but she motions for me to be silent. "So when I turned 18 I finally decided to do something. I sell the tessera and then I gave the money to the mayor to sponsor this year's tributes because I didn't want to see what happened to Cliff happen to anyone else." I can't think of anything to say, anything I say now will be an inadequate apology. She must notice my hesitation because she says "Don't worry I don't need an apology. But I thought you of all people Haymitch wouldn't listen to all of the districts rumours".

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment and shame. She turned away from me and went into the dining room. I paused for moment to think about what she had said. How sad that the Dallet family was going to lose two children to the games. That thought astonished me, I was already counting Faucet out of the games. Did I count myself out the, no not yet. I know that I can give those career tributes a run for their money. Not with brawn but with brains.

Also I couldn't believe that I had sunk so low to believe rumours about someone with no proof, when that very thing had been done to me a year ago. It had been when my family had hit an all time low in our wood supply, see we get our wood from the edge of the district and then cut it up and deliver it, mostly to town families. But someone had been taking the wood from where we gathered in exuberant amounts and no one but me was brave enough to venture too far beyond the fence. Then came along our saviour, it was Skane Everdeen, a young boy who lived in the seam. Even though he was only 13 he was already out in the forests everyday hunting and gathering for his family. He spotted me one day just as I had slipped under the fence and came over with a big grin on his face, it was infectious. "What you doing?" he asks in a musical voice. I had then gone on to explain my predicament with the wood to the smiling boy and we struck up a deal. He would help me gather wood if, I helped him hunt.

Every afternoon we went out to the woods and hunted. We became friends quickly. The only problem was that people were starting to get suspicious and accused me and Skane of theft due to the fact that we had gone from being ridiculously poor to just poor in a few months. I think the only thing that saved us from standing on trial was him. People warmed up to him with ease, me however, it took a while for people to come to like me. I think back to the goodbyes in the justice building and I think of why Skane didn't come, I knew why. We had struck a deal the day before, if either of us was chosen then the other would go straight out into the forest and start gathering so both family's had enough. I also know why we chose this agreement, goodbyes are too hard. I think it works out better for the both of us to believe that because we didn't say goodbye I will make it back.

When I finally enter the dining room I see the table already laid out with delicacies that even my imagination couldn't have come up with. There were 10 types of delicious soups, different types of fresh salads. Something called pasta and all the meat I could ever want. Daliah called it a buffet. I loaded up my plate with as much as it would fit before Hertz mentioned to me that, if I wanted I can go back for seconds or head over to the dessert table. As I sat there wolfing my food down Daliah turned on the television so we could watch the other reapings. In district one a tiny girl named sparkle went up on stage and I let out a sigh of relief until I heard their guide ask for any volunteers.

My heart sank at once when I see that the girl who had volunteered was massive. She looked at least 6 inches taller than me and had at least 50 pounds on me. If this is what the girl look like I don't even want to imagine the boy. But to my surprise the boy was just slightly taller than me and about the same build. When he strutted up onto the stage the girls looked they were going to die, he was obviously a charmer. District 2 had a big guy but quite a small girl only 14 by the look of her. There was something about her though the way she held herself and that little smile that was on her face that made me know that she was to be feared.

District three on the other hand had a 12 year old boy walk up on stage and no one volunteered for him. The girl from 3 burst out in tears and collapsed from nerves the instant she got up on stage. The district 4 tributes were different from usual though, the boy was tall and lanky but had a mean hard look about him and the girl looked terrified to be chosen, she forced a grin onto her face but I can see it was a ruse, these two didn't want to be tributes. District 5 had two 13 year olds that looked underfed and weak. District 6 had a tall, boy who was built like an ox walk up on stage but as he went up the stairs he stumbled, he didn't have any coordination what so ever. There was another 12 year old chosen from 7 but this time it was a girl, she was tiny 4 foot 7 at most and looked like she weighed 60 pounds. The boy from their district was 15 but he looked average. Both from 8 were 16 but looked weak and underfed, just as the tributes from 9 and 10 did. Then there was district 11, both tributes were of average size but the boy looked wily and street smart.

Then they showed our reaping, I heard Jasmine's screams all over again as she begged for a volunteer. They didn't say much in our reaping except that we might have a contender this year. I don't know if they were referring to Faucet or me. As the screen went blank I thought of all the tributes, some were big, some looked smart and others just determined. If I wanted to win this, it was going to be a challenge. I decided to ask Hertz what he thought of this year's tributes he simply said in return "I think district 1 and 2 are going to be tough and 4 is hiding something."

We ate the most of the meal in silence after that, I chanced a look at Faucet and she looked at me with a worried look on her face. It was probably the same look I was currently wearing. As we went back out into the swaying hallway back to our rooms I whisper "I'm sorry". "I know" she says, her voice sounds honest so I let the subject drop. "Are you afraid?" I ask, "Of course, aren't you?" she replies her voice wavering for just a second. "I don't know" I answer truthfully, she gives me a searching look and then enters her room. As I make my way down to my door I can't help but wonder why aren't I afraid? And the answer is because I have a chance.


End file.
